Question i7-265K or 9900X ?

[93QSD5]

I am building a system and have to decide the platform for both the mainboard and cpu.

- The end goal would be productivity and technically-averse topics such as containerization/virtualisation and writing plus compiling source code.
- Games are not my primary concern rn.

i7 265k PRO​	i7 265k CONTRA​	9900X PRO​	9900X CONTRA​
Has E-Cores​	Only 20T / 4 less Threads​	12C/24T​	No E-Cores for minute or bg work​
Smaller transistor (3nm)​	Deprecated Socket​	Zen5 upgrade potential​	1nm larger transistor?​
Larger L2 Cache​	No Hyperthreading due to E/P​	Hyperthreading/SMT​	Larger L3 Cache but smaller L2 Cachee than 265k​
costs 300 bucks​	Has NPU/A.I. garbage​	Doesn't have NPU/A.I. garbage​	costs a bit less than 400 bucks / more than 265k​

- I would loved a 9900X3D but they are way to expensive (closer to 600 bucks).

- What about a 149000K? 14700K? It ha s a high boost clock, 32T/28T via 8(*2 SMT =16)+12C and a smaller price tag

I'm looking forward to buying 6400MT/s RAM and a smaller matx or itx mainboard.

My pick is the 9900X right now but I wonder if I'm making a mistake, especially given the almost 400 bucks price tag.
*(I could opt for 8C/16T but for my use case I would rather jump straight to 24)

What's your advise?

 

[Lutfij]

- The end goal would be productivity and technically-averse topics such as containerization/virtualisation and writing plus compiling source code.
You should include the list of app's you wish to tax the system with, sans an etc in that lineup.

I'd avoid the 14th Gen Intel platforms due to the firmware issue(and the prior generation due to the degradation issue).

 

[punkncat]

I think one of the Ultra Core 7 are on a REALLY good price with Prime Day right now. I want to say 265 non K SKU. In my very precursory look motherboards seem kind of high for that platform. At the same time all the good motherboard options have become so high we have to wonder if pricing is set by someone supporting a substantial crack habit.

 

[thestryker]

The 265K is typically better than the 14700K and 9900X outside of gaming. It'll also depend on how much platform features matter: Intel has more storage and better connectivity. Personally I'd get the 265K unless upgrading just the CPU was something you thought you would do in the next few years. If upgrading just the CPU is something seriously on the table AMD is by far the best choice.

There's also specific workloads that need to be taken into account: if something you use or plan to benefits from AVX512 AMD is the only choice.

 

[93QSD5]

You should include the list of app's you wish to tax the system with, sans an etc in that lineup.

• I have no idea what happened to the table and my apologies to anyone deciphering it.
  • During the editing session it was looking just fine, couple hours later it's looking like a typhoon went over it.

---

• My regular applications are the following (listed by usage):

1. 7zip with lots of small and large archives, encrypting and decrypting AES-256 files
2. Local Analysis Tools and Procedures (e.g. Cutter/Ghidra/IDA)
3. IDEs, Compilation, Development and osdev (more cores benefits make -j where n is the amount of logical cores)
4. Local ML, StableDiffusion, although this is sorely a GPU-focused task
5. Occasional Blender in conjunction with a GPU, as well as (terribly yet perhaps functional) self written scientific simulations.
6. Lastly virtualisation in the background (e.g. Docker, VMs with Qemu, VMware/VBox)

Is the 256k still the better value proposition despite Nova Lake releasing on So.1954 ?

Edit:
- If some sentences seem vague or choppy, THW wouldn't let me post due this post being seen as "spam potential"
- Fixed Table in the initial thread question.

 

[93QSD5]

The 265K is typically better than the 14700K and 9900X outside of gaming. It'll also depend on how much platform features matter: Intel has more storage and better connectivity. Personally I'd get the 265K unless upgrading just the CPU was something you thought you would do in the next few years. If upgrading just the CPU is something seriously on the table AMD is by far the best choice.

There's also specific workloads that need to be taken into account: if something you use or plan to benefits from AVX512 AMD is the only choice.

Doesn't the 9900X not only have more Threads but also a 200 MHz higher Turbo clock rate (additionally AVX512 and the ability to upgrade what might be the last gen before Zen6).

Why would the 265k be a better choice then?
I'm not sure I comprehend the advantages "[265k] has more storage and connectivity properly". Both support PCIe5.0

 

[93QSD5]

I think one of the Ultra Core 7 are on a REALLY good price with Prime Day right now. I want to say 265 non K SKU. In my very precursory look motherboards seem kind of high for that platform. At the same time all the good motherboard options have become so high we have to wonder if pricing is set by someone supporting a substantial crack habit.

Assume regular pricing, not prime days (for various reasons but basically it assumes prime membership)
It kind of has to be the K sku.
Strongly agree with the pricing analogy.

 

[thestryker]

Doesn't the 9900X not only have more Threads but also a 200 MHz higher Turbo clock rate

Threads and clock speed don't inherently mean anything. The only thing that matters is actual performance which is where the 265K is an overall winner (outside of games).

additionally AVX512 and the ability to upgrade what might be the last gen before Zen6

These are real advantages if you're going to use them which is why I mentioned both in my post.

I'm not sure I comprehend the advantages "[265k] has more storage and connectivity properly". Both support PCIe5.0

ARL has built in TB4 whereas AMD reserved 4 PCIe lanes on the 800 series chipsets to get USB 4 support. ARL also has more USB, PCIe and SATA connectivity off the chipset.

 

[93QSD5]

Threads and clock speed don't inherently mean anything. The only thing that matters is actual performance which is where the 265K is an overall winner (outside of games).

These are real advantages if you're going to use them which is why I mentioned both in my post.

ARL has built in TB4 whereas AMD reserved 4 PCIe lanes on the 800 series chipsets to get USB 4 support. ARL also has more USB, PCIe and SATA connectivity off the chipset.

1. What strikes me the most is the wattage consumption difference between the the 265k, 14900k and 9900X.
Games aren't my focus application but the only benchmarks where reviewers were bothered to (unintentionally) show runtime wattage.

At some point, the 265k was consuming 30-65W less than its counter-parts.


2. Sadly the 265k doesn't support AVX-512 nor AVX-10.
I misremembered it having AVX-10 but not AVX-512

It may be, partially, a deal breaker (for my use cases) to be honest, have to search a bit more.


3. I don't need TB4, but that's still great to keep in mind.

Questioning now whether waiting for the Arrow Lake Refresh is a worthwhile endeavour. 2025 Q3/4 is right around the corner.

 

[VizzieTheViz]

1. What strikes me the most is the wattage consumption difference between the the 265k, 14900k and 9900X.
Games aren't my focus application but the only benchmarks where reviewers were bothered to (unintentionally) show runtime wattage.

At some point, the 265k was consuming 30-65W less than its counter-parts.


2. Sadly the 265k doesn't support AVX-512 nor AVX-10.
I misremembered it having AVX-10 but not AVX-512

It may be, partially, a deal breaker (for my use cases) to be honest, have to search a bit more.


3. I don't need TB4, but that's still great to keep in mind.

Questioning now whether waiting for the Arrow Lake Refresh is a worthwhile endeavour. 2025 Q3/4 is right around the corner.

There’s always something better right around the corner, that’s the curse of buying new hardware.

The Intel seems the better choice for your purpose unless you need the AVX functionality or are one of those very rare people that actually upgrades their cpu.

I think a lot more people like the idea of being able to upgrade their CPU cpu than actually upgrade a CPU. I know I like the idea but by the time I actually need to upgrade the cpu a completely new system usually makes more sense.

That said I don’t think you’d get a bad system either way, both the ryzen 9900x and the i7 265k are excellent cpus.

 

[93QSD5]

There’s always something better right around the corner, that’s the curse of buying new hardware.

That's true though in this case, waiting perhaps a month or two might be worthwhile (or 3-6 months, who knows when ARL-Refresh drops). Might even cause arrow lake prices to drop since they will have competing stock of the same product essentially.

I think a lot more people like the idea of being able to upgrade their CPU cpu than actually upgrade a CPU. I know I like the idea but by the time I actually need to upgrade the cpu a completely new system usually makes more sense.

You know what, I think you are right. Typically the upgrade path (in this case 1 generation at best) is usually not big enough to upgrade anyway.

 

[thestryker]

Questioning now whether waiting for the Arrow Lake Refresh is a worthwhile endeavour. 2025 Q3/4 is right around the corner.

There won't be anything fundamentally different about it, if it hits the general market, other than potentially being slightly faster. Basically the rumors all seem to agree a bigger NPU is likely and maybe some clock speed. Given that we're almost half way through July and Intel hasn't said anything and the leaks are still sparse it doesn't seem to me like there's much to be said.

 

[93QSD5]

There won't be anything fundamentally different about it, if it hits the general market, other than potentially being slightly faster. Basically the rumors all seem to agree a bigger NPU is likely and maybe some clock speed. Given that we're almost half way through July and Intel hasn't said anything and the leaks are still sparse it doesn't seem to me like there's much to be said.

Having a better NPU is a downside so there's nothing worthwhile about the refresh.

Well, what can I say other than I appreciate your help across this thread, it was a very fruitful as well as educational conversation and I wish you a great day.

I'm fairly confident, with your help, I know which platform I'm buying now.